What is Ebu-Arts?

Congratulations to our 2016 Ebu- Arts contest winner Kevan Luppey!

Inspiration for Lunney’s work comes from a radio program reporting on the discovery of papyrus documents from an ancient Egyptian rubbish mound. She realized it was doubtful the authors anticipated their debris would be unearthed and inspected 2,000 years in the future. Imagining someone examining our garbage two millennia from now caused Lunney to reflect upon the quality of items we have previously discarded, and the way that knowledge will impact our decisions concerning what we will leave behind in the future.

Lunney is keenly aware that everywhere we walk we touch things that have come before us; with everything we leave behind, we affect the future. This evokes questions for the artist. What has lasting value? What is permanent? Lunney’s conclusion is shared wisdom, nature’s elements, and time, and she interprets these concepts through her work.

Connection, made of approximately 3300 safety pins which were individually pinned, one to the next just as minutes build through time and history builds

Additional Information Connection is made completely of safety pins. It began as a ball between the shoulders and then the neck and head. It progressed to add the front legs. The pins could not be connected to make thin legs without a wire so a wire was added through the torso and bent to make two legs. The work progressed to add chest and stomach. Hips include another wire. The two ends of this wire, forming the two back legs are inserted into holes drilled in the stainless steel base. They can be pulled out if the work if not supported from the base when moved. It is easy enough to reinsert, but try not to separate them. Please do not lift by the head or body, but move by grasping the base.

Thanks.

What is Ebu-Arts? In the simplest and most concise terms, this thrilling and comprehensive new genre is art from art. It comprises visual artworks that are themselves comprised of visual artworks—pieces that, be they two- or three-dimensional, parlay the beauty and value of pre-existing handiwork into a larger creation that achieves a cumulative grandeur. Thus, an Ebu-Arts piece boasts tiers of aesthetic merit and excitement, standing as both a compilation of artistry that holds its own great value, and as a singular passion project that takes on new life. A photographic collage may be the most recognizable Ebu-Arts example, wherein hundreds, or even thousands, of invaluable shots are meticulously merged for the greater good. Yet that would only be scratching the surface when assessing this genre’s reach.

What else might constitute an Ebu-Arts piece? While parameters do exist, the possibilities remain endless. An artist might construct a life-size sculpture out of fine, handmade jewelry, while another might weave a remarkable tapestry from boldly designed product labels. An artist may see the beauty of fine silverware and use it to craft a breathtaking wall mount, while another may form a postmodern statue made entirely of Apple’s masterfully designed electronics. Perhaps it is even the artist himself who generates the contributory elements that add up to his opus. But Ebu-Arts is not merely adornment art, nor does it identify as recycled or upcycled art, exciting as those green and growing movements may be. Ebu-Arts transcends the notion of instilling polish and allure in something once perceived as worthless. It rather marks the evolution of that which already shimmered, making it part of a communal body that serves as a wellspring of brilliance and ebullience—a work of Ebu-Art.

We are excited about this years Ebu-Arts contest! Submit your pieces today to be in the running to win the grand prize of $1000. You will also have your work displayed in our art gallery.